The British journal of dermatology
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Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.K. With the aim of reducing, and hopefully reversing, the year-on-year rise in skin cancer incidence, SunSmart, the U.K.'s national skin cancer prevention campaign, has been hosted by Cancer Research UK since 2003. ⋯ This on-line survey, while not entirely representative of the U.K. population, has highlighted those factors that can be effective in reducing the incidence of sunburn, and presumably skin cancer, and that messages about the secondary prevention of skin cancer clearly have some overlap with those advocating primary prevention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Optimization of photodynamic therapy with a novel self-adhesive 5-aminolaevulinic acid patch: results of two randomized controlled phase III studies.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is increasingly used for treatment of actinic keratoses (AKs) but is a cumbersome procedure. A thin self-adhesive patch (PD P 506 A) containing 5-aminolaevulinic acid (5-ALA) was developed to facilitate PDT. ⋯ PD P 506 A is an innovative, easy-to-handle 5-ALA patch for PDT of mild to moderate AK lesions. Compared with current PDT procedures, pretreatment (e.g. curettage) is not needed and handling is considerably facilitated. A single PDT treatment results in efficacy rates being statistically significantly superior to placebo and cryosurgery.
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Multicenter Study
Audit of dermatological content of U.K. undergraduate curricula.
Recommendations for the dermatology content (learning outcomes) of the core undergraduate curriculum were sent to all U.K. medical schools in June 2006. ⋯ Curricula should be strengthened so that the recommended learning outcomes feature in the core curricula of all medical schools. Teaching leads in all specialties, including those in the community, should communicate so that learning and teaching are integrated horizontally and vertically. The results should provide a baseline for future audits.
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Little is known about the pathophysiology of localized scleroderma (skin fibrosis, also termed 'morphoea'), although it is likely that microvascular dysfunction is a contributing factor. ⋯ Microvascular perfusion is increased within morphoea plaques and the increased response detected by both thermography and red wavelength LDI, as compared with green wavelength LDI, suggests that the increase in perfusion is more marked in deeper, larger, rather than in superficial, smaller vessels.
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Methotrexate is a folic acid antagonist widely used for the treatment of inflammatory disorders for more than 50 years. Methotrexate is a standard systemic therapy for severe psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Folic acid supplementation has been advocated to limit the toxicity of methotrexate on blood cells, gastrointestinal tract and liver. However, there is still controversy regarding the usefulness of folic acid supplementation. ⋯ Supplementation with folic acid is an effective measure to reduce hepatic adverse effects associated with methotrexate treatment. There is no difference between folinic acid and folic acid, but the lower cost of the latter promotes its use.